Paraphrasing & Summarizing Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

Putting Research into Writing Once you have chosen a topic for a research assignment, you need to locate sources. Be sure you read through your sources before you finalize your research to be sure they are suitable for your assignment. It is a great idea to use a highlighter to highlight the information you plan to use from your sources. Once you have located the information you plan to use from each of your sources, it is time to take notes. There are three types of notes you can choose to take: Paraphrasing Paraphrasing Summarizing Summarizing Direct Quotation Direct Quotation Employing one of the three types of note-taking strategies will help you avoid committing the act of plagiarism, which is when you illegally take someone else’s work and use it as your own. We will discuss plagiarism in more detail later on.

Paraphrasing Taking someone else’s words and putting them into your own words, while maintaining the same idea as the original. You will paraphrase most of the information you use in your paper You will be re-writing the information from your sources into your own words to use in your paper. Before you paraphrase: Make sure that you understand the passage before you paraphrase it. Look up words that you don’t understand. You cannot put something that you don’t understand into your own words. This will lead to plagiarism. Clarify and simplify as you paraphrase. Most of what you will borrow will be information presented in more technical, difficult phrases. You want to put it into your own words and simplify it so that your readers will be able to understand the information. Retain the exact meaning of the original. Maintain approximately the same length, order of ideas, tone, and message. Do not use the same words and phrases, except for the few that cannot be changed because they have no adequate synonyms. Develop and maintain your own writing style throughout the paper, even when restating others’ ideas, attitudes, and beliefs. Provide an in-text citation (give credit) for all paraphrased material. This will avoid plagiarism. (this will be explained more thoroughly down the road) Put the original aside while paraphrasing to avoid copying word for word. Compare the finished paraphrase with the original source to be certain that the paraphrase truly rewrites the original.

What makes a good paraphrase? Take a look at the sample paraphrases on your worksheet. What version is better and why?

Summarizing A summary is a shortened version of a paraphrase. It retains the original writer’s main idea and point of view but condenses the material. Like the paraphrase, it uses your own words. The rules are as follows: Read the passage, paying attention to key words and looking up words you don’t know. Restate the main facts and ideas, keeping the order. Include essential information, but omit descriptive details, examples, illustrations, analogies, and anecdotes. Try to shrink the passage to about one-third the length of the original. Provide a parenthetical reference for the material you summarize (explained later on in the course)

What makes a good summary? Take a look at the sample summary on your worksheet. Which version is better and why?

Daily use: Summarizing & Paraphrasing You do one of these activities on a daily basis! Which one? “How was your day today?” “How did the game go last night?” Why do we use one more than the other?

Homework Find a nursery rhyme like Jack and Jill. Produce the original, then paraphrase it, and then summarize it. Cannot use Jack and Jill. You must provide me with the original rhyme. You must paraphrase AND summarize in order to receive credit. Can be typed or hand written. Due: tomorrow! Suggestions: Itsy Bitsy Spider Itsy Bitsy Spider Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty Little Miss Muffet Little Miss Muffet Peter Piper Peter Piper There was an old woman who lived in a shoe There was an old woman who lived in a shoe